Store

Help Articles

Everything posted by JayBassin

You also may have too much leavener. The leavener could react too quickly and puff the center before the structure is set by the heat. How much leavener did you use? You could try cutting down the baking powder. Added note: if the oven temp is too high, you could have the sides cooking too fast. Try using damp kitchen cloths wrapped around the cake pans.

Absolutely, I agree with ChefPeon. Not only does the caramel melt, but the puffs get doughy/chewy, which IMO is even worse. The choux puffs must be crisp. I don't think caramel-dipped choux will last more than 8 hours or so, even on a dry day, without getting gummy.

I don't think soaking is intended to saturate the cake. Genoise and other sponge cakes are dry, and traditonal soaking in liquor-spiked simple syrup adds moisture and shelf-life. Most soaking liquids are not so colored as to change the color of the cake, so it doesn't much matter. I think if you soaked a genoise with pomogranate syrup until it was uniform in color, the cake would be too wet. Some tricks (as with lemon syrups) are to pierce the cake with a skewer before soaking, but again this would create colored streaks rather than uniform red color. I'd rather have a cake that tastes good with good texture. Maybe you should learn to see the beauty of a streaked pomegranate genoise?

I second this. I'd use chicken feet if they were easy to get, but trotters are easier for me to get (and cheap). I split and freeze them. I blanche a trotter half or two then rinse then add to the chicken bones and get a very rich stock. There is no discernable pork flavor---only the richness from the collagen.

I also use a coffee grinder, but my post is to push Braun and steer you away from Krups. I've had Braun and Krups gadgets for years, and while the brands work the same, customer service and repairs are vastly different. When my Braun products go bad (even after warrenty), the company is very helpful and often gives me a replacement. Krups doesn't even bother to reply, even under warrenty. I will never buy another Krups product and I urge all eGulleteers to avoid them.

Just guessing here, but I suspect that the rest in the 'fridge allowed the gluten in the batter to relax, thus enabling the gas bubbles to expand more. It's true that a cold environment will slow down the reaction that generates the gas. I also think that the recipe you cited had considerably more baking soda than I would use for 1.25 cups of flour (maybe 2-3 times as much). Were the cupcakes quite browned when baked? That's a result of baking soda.

The recipe looked ok, although it seems to be shy a bit on liquid or fat. You might consider increasing the sour cream to 1 C (and if so, boost the baking soda by another 1/4 tsp), or another 1/2 stick butter. I also think RMR may be on to your "dryness" problem---definitely do not overbake: there should be moist crumbs (but not goo) on a tester.

I used to live in Los Angeles in the late '70s and early '80s, and frequented a family-owned winery called San Antonio right down town. Recently revisited LA (haven't been back in 25 years), but couldn't find San Antonio Winery in the phone book. Anyone know what ever happened to them?

According to Shizuo Tsuji and my recollection as a young boy in Tokyo, "Tokyo-style" tempura is cooked to a very light brown while "Osaka-style" is served white. I think the difference is not temperature (all fried tempura should be about 360-370 F), but the mixture of oil: Tokyo style has a signficant percentage of sesame oil mixed into the neutral vegetable/grapeseed oil. I admit my memory is pretty shaky, here, so Torakris should weigh in with the correct information.

I use two Messermeister magnetic strips. They replaced a couple I had earlier. I like the strips, but you need to make sure they are strong, permanent magnets. The last set I had wasn't strong enough to hold my knives:

I say no, don't whip the eggs for any custard. Whipping incorporates air, which is in the form of bubbles. I don't think cooking removes the air (think meringue). If you incorporate air, you will get bubbles in your custard.

﻿﻿Congee (or “Jook”) Oriental rice porridge • ¾ C rice (I usually use brown jasmine, and I usually use ½ rice and ½ Scottish oatmeal) • 4 to 4½ C water • ¼ tsp dashi-no-moto (instant dashi powder) optional—omit if you can’t find it • 1 2” piece of dried kelp (kombu, available from oriental groceries) • 1 tsp soy sauce • 1 C frozen shelled soy beans (edamame) • 1 14 oz block of tofu (prepared as below) • 1 medium onion, diced • 2 shiitake mushrooms, rinsed and soaked in warm water at least 15 minutes, squeezed, and sliced • 2 button mushrooms, sliced • 1 tsp grated ginger • 2 scallions, sliced • ½ tsp oriental sesame oil • hot chili sauce (optional) In a 3-4 qt pot, bring 4 C water and kombu to a boil. Add dashi-no-moto if you have it. Otherwise, add ¼ tsp salt. Turn down heat and simmer kombu 10 minutes, until water is slightly green. Remove kombu and set aside. Add soy sauce, rice/oatmeal, cover, and return to a simmer. Meanwhile, in an 8” skillet, heat some cooking oil and give it a blast of Pam. Saute the squares of tofu gently until well browned, then turn and saute on the other side. Cut the reserved kombu seaweed into fine julienne strips. When the rice starts thickening, add the onions, ginger, mushrooms, and soy beans. This takes about 20-25 minutes. Watch it carefully, because it can go from nicely thick to very thick quickly–you can dilute with water if you miss it. Add the tofu, julienne kombu, and scallions and sesame oil just before serving, and stir in gently. Squeezed tofu: The night before, remove tofu from package and wrap in cotton tea towel. Put on plate, put a weight on it, and refrigerate overnight. This squeezes a lot of water out. Next morning, slice the tofu block into ½ horizontally, then into 3 longwise and 4 across. You now have 24 bite-sized squares of tofu. Notes: • Use any mixture of ingredients you want, including cooked chicken, shrimp, etc. • You can use dilute chicken stock instead of the water and dashi • Squeezing the tofu makes it easier to saute without spattering. Sauteed tofu adds flavor, but you can add it “raw.” • You can add 1 Tbs miso (omit extra salt). It’s best to take ¼ C of simmering water/broth from step 1 and whisk in the miso, then pour the diluted miso back into the pot (adding the miso straight makes it hard to disperse evenly without lumps) • Don’t cook the kombu or scallions too long.